Improved wire fence



J. W. NORGROSS.

Wire Fence.

Patented Jan, 10, 1865.

wzhuzssas lhvrrnn STATES PATENT truce.

JOSEPH W. NORCROSS, OF MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT.

l IMPROVED WIRE FENCE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 45,852, dated January10, 1865.

To all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, J osnru W. Noeonoss, of Middletown. in the county ofMiddlesex and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and ImprovedWire Fence; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description thereof, which will enable those skilled in theart to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming part of this specication, in which- Figure 1represents a face view of a wire fence constructed according to thisinvention. Fig. 2 is an inside view of the apparatus for straining thewires in a larger scale than the previous figure. Fig. 3 is a transversevertical section of the same, the line a: m, Fig. 2, indicating theplane of section. Fig. 4 is a front view of one of the posts, withbrackets to support the wires. tion of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

This invention relates to a wire fence in which each section isconstructed of one or two continuous pieces'of wire extending over foursets of pulleys, two of which sets have their bearings on the end postsof the section, and the other two sets on adjustable posts in themiddle, in such a manner that by moving said adjustable posts toward orfrom each other the tension of the wire is decreased or increased, andsaid tension can thus be readi ly accommodated to the existingtemperature, and furthermore, by using a continuous piece of wire theliability of the wire to break is materially reduced. The severalstrands of wires are supported and held parallel by brackets withoblique slots, cast or otherwise rigidly attached to posts, which may beloose or fastened down to the ground. Before the wires are strained theycan be easily introduced into the brackets, and by moving the movableposts an opportunity is obtained to force the wires apart when a persondesires to pass through between them. The bearings of the pulleys arecast solid with the posts, so that the fence can be made cheap anddurable.

A represents a section of afence constructed according to thisinvention. The wire W extends from the post B round pulleys a b 0 cl andback to the post B, or, if desired, it may Fig. 5 is a side elevahavefour terminations on the upper and lOWer ends of the posts B B. Thepulleys a have their bearings on one of the end posts, C, of the sectionA, and the pulleys 0 on the post C at the'opposite end of said section.The pulleys I) d are secured to posts D D, which slide betweenhorizontal guide-strips e, se-

cured t0 the posts B B at suitable distances v apart. Said movable postsare provided with sockets f,'to receive the right-and-left-handed screwg, and by turning these screws the position of the posts is adjusted.

By following the course of the wire it will be noticed that the sameextends from the post B round the lowest pulley, a; thence to the lowestpulley, b thence to the second pulley a; thence to the upper pulley, bthence to the upper pulley, a, and thence to the upper pulley, c, to theupper pulley, d, and so on until it is finally secured to the post B, asclearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. Instead of having the wireextend from the upper pulley, a, to the upper pulley, 0, however, itmight be made to terminate on the upper end of the post B", and anotherpiece of wire run from the upper end of the post B to the pulleys c, andso on to the lower end of post B. By this arrangement the same effectwould be produced. By forcingthe movable posts D D apart, therefore, thetension of the wire is increased, and by drawing said posts together thetension of the wire is reduced. The tension can thus be easily adjustedto suit the temperature in various seasons of the year, and the breakingof the wire or the derangement of the fence from ex pansion andcontraction by the variations of the temperature can be easily avoided.Furthermore, by using one continuous piece of wire the strength of thefence is increased,

since a strain to which one strand of the wire is exposed willbetransmitted to all the strands, and the whole series must bestrained totheir utmost tension before one of them will break.

The several strands extending from the posts C and C to the posts B andB are supthe wiie is subjected to the desired tension the bracketsretain the strands in a parallel position. The posts E with the bracketsare designed to prevent animals from forcin the wires apart, but it isdesirable to have the posts, or some of them, movable, so that if aperson wishes to pass through the fence he or she can bring one of theposts in such a position that the wires can be forced apart therequisite distance. The damage which the fence would sustain by climbingover it is thereby avoided.

The bearings of the pulleys ct-b c, are cast solid with the posts 0 0 DI)", so that very little labor is required to fit the several partstogether and to put up the fence.

A fence constructed according to this invention obviates all thedifficulties attending Wire fences of the usual construction. The wireis not liable to break, and it can be easily 1 ept in the proper tensionand position, and when desired the Whole fence can be 1( adily takendown and put up again without injury to any of its parts.

I'claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. The use in theconstruction of awire fence of one continuous piece of. wire for eachsection, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The pulleys a b 0 (I, attached to rigid posts 0 O and to movableposts D D, and operating in combination with the wire W and withright-aud-left-handed screws, or their equivalents, substantially as andfor the purpose described.

. 3. The brackets g, with oblique slots 71, applied to movable or rigidposts E, and operating in combination with the wire XV, substantially asand for the purpose set forth.

4-. Casting the bearings of the pulleys a b c d. solid with the posts 0G D D, substantially as and for the purpose described.

JOSEPH XV. NORGROSS.

Witnesses:

W. W. WrLoox, M. M. LIVINGSTON.

